Uwazi

On June 5, 2020, the People’s Court of Heshigten Banner of Southern (Inner) Mongolia tried two Mongolian activists, Mr. Tsogjil and Mr. Haschuluu, who organized local Mongolian herders to protest the government’s illegal appropriation of their grazing land. Jail sentences of eight months and four months were handed down to Tsogjil and Haschuluu respectively for “rallying the public to petition the government, obstructing official business, videotaping and posting untrue stories, and transferring edited video footage to foreign organizations.”

“Defendant Tsogjil, male, born on March 4, 1979” and “defendant Haschuluu, male, born on October 23, 1978” were sentenced for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” according to the criminal verdict issued by the Heshigten Banner People’s Court.

“Criminal tools used: one long banner and one cellular phone that were already confiscated,” the verdict added.

“They are totally innocent,” Mr. O. Sechenbaatar, who himself was released from a year of house arrest recently after being detained for two weeks for supporting the protest in the neighboring Ongniuud Banner, said in an audio statement. “What they did was nothing but to legally file complaints about the local government’s illegal land grab and stage protests to urge the local Public Security Bureau to release detained herders and activists including myself.”

Under the Chinese authorities’ “bail pending trial” for over a year, the two activists were deprived of their basic rights to mobility and communication after being released from their initial detention last year.

“The trial was carried out pretty much behind a closed door,” O. Sechenbaatar told the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center. “The crimes they were accused of committing were rallying people to demand the release of detained herders; inviting Ms. Yanjindulam (also knowns as Naranhuaar), a herder's leader, to join the protest; posting protest video footage on WeChat and sending information to foreign hostile forces.”

Tsogjil, a native of Heshigten Banner, had actively been advocating Southern Mongolians’ rights to use their native language; access their land, water, and other resources; and maintain national identity. He founded and managed at least five discussion groups with a total membership of nearly 2,500 Mongolian herders and grassroots activists on China’s only available social media outlet WeChat.

Before his arrest in April 2019, Tsogjil rallied the Mongolian herders for the release of the detained writer O. Sechenbaatar in one of his WeChat discussion groups called “Language, Livestock, and National Boundary.” “I ask our fellow herders from each and every village to gather in front of the banner government tomorrow to demand the immediate release of O. Sechenbaatar,” he wrote.

“O. Sechenbaatar went to jail for defending our land and rights. We all must wake up and take up the fight to protect our homeland,” Tsogjil said in the discussion group. “The authorities can arrest one of us, a few of us, but cannot arrest all of us.”

“Haschuluu was accused of committing similar crimes, including his involvement in last year’s public protest in front of the banner government and demanding my release,” O. Sechenbaatar said.

“What is truly revealing is the family members of the two were told by the court that the decision was handed down from the above. This means the government is above the law, and the law is a tool for the government officials to punish those who protest the government’s abuse of power,” O. Sechenbaatar added.

According to online discussions posted by local herders from Heshigten Banner, Haschuluu lived with his 80-year-old mother who is left without anyone's care after his trial despite her poor health.

On 5 June 2020, Mr. Tsogjil and Mr. Haschuluu, herders and community-based defenders, were sentenced to jail for protesting protesting against Government land-grabbing by a court in Heshigten Banner, China.

After releasing Liu Xianbin, authorities still watched him.

On June 27, Liu completed a 10-year prison sentence. His family received a phone call at 10:00 a.m., saying he would return home soon. Yet, he did not arrive home until 8:00 p.m. because he had to take a COVID-19 test.

State security officers and pandemic prevention personnel picked him up at 4:00 p.m. and took him home. His family had been waiting for the whole day. They were very mentally and physically exhausted.

The next day, the family saw a police vehicle outside of their apartment complex. A few state security officers sat in the car. The family thought it was odd for the officers to be monitoring the area.

A month before, government officials installed surveillance cameras around his home. They also placed cameras at the entry of the complex.

An insider said, �State security officers stay at the entry of his building and have been there the whole day. I have no clue whether Liu Xianbin is under house arrest or residential surveillance.... The practice is not normal, and it seems that Liu Xianbin is being tightly controlled.�

Liu is a supporter of democracy and human rights. He participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He has also defended prisoners of conscience.

Since 1991, Liu has spent more than 20 years in prison on various charges. His first charge was �counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement." He received this charge for his participation in the Tiananmen Square protests. He was released in 1993.

In 1998, he formed a democratic party, so he received a 13-year sentence, but he was released early in 2008.

Two years later, he was arrested on a charge of inciting subversion of state power. A local court sentenced him to 10 years in prison on March 25, 2011. They also stripped him of political rights for two years and four months.

On 27 June 2020, Liu Xianbin, pro-democracy defender, was placed under surveillance by the police after serving a ten-year jail term in Suining, China.

Police used pepper spray and arrested at least 14 people in a Hong Kong mall during a �shopping protest� on Thursday against Beijing�s impending national security law .

The suspects, nine males and five females, aged 14 to 55, were arrested for illegal assembly, police said, after protesters marched around the Yoho Mall shopping centre in Yuen Long chanting slogans, which caused customers to flee and stores to close on what was a public holiday.

Trouble flared again in the evening after two protesters who were waving a colonial flag and chanting slogans in the mall�s atrium were taken away by plain-clothes officers, sparking the anger of a small group of demonstrators nearby.

The officers then fired pepper spray to keep the group at bay. Riot police quickly arrived to provide back up and also used pepper spray.

Beijing is drafting legislation for Hong Kong, which will ban secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign and external influences to threaten national security. The controversial law, of which only a broad outline has been revealed, could be passed as early as June 30.

Among those hit with pepper spray was opposition district councillor Lam Chun. First aiders helped four people sprayed with the chemical.

The Yuen Long councillor said he was just trying to find out why the pair were taken away. �One was just chanting slogans. There were no more than 50 people [as permitted by coronavirus social-distancing rules]. We don�t even know why they were arrested,� Lam said.

�We couldn�t even ask police why they were arrested, they responded with pepper spray. That�s the situation Hongkongers are facing now.� Thursday is a public holiday in Hong Kong to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival . The demonstration started at about 1.30pm, when a man in the mall chanted slogans and displayed a banner that read �Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time�, a popular mantra at the height of last year�s anti-government protests , which were sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill .

Others watched from upper floors, and some joined in with shouts of their own. They then marched through the mall chanting slogans.

�Give me back my justice,� they yelled. �Hong Kong independence, the only way.�

Police in riot gear arrived at the mall at 2pm to break up the crowd and left soon after. But protesters later regrouped and continued with their routine.

Shortly after 3pm, plain-clothes police officers revealed their identities and stopped more than a dozen people. Some were taken away after police reinforcements arrived.

On 25 June 2020, 14 pro-democracy defenders were arrested by the police for protesting against the looming national security law in Hong Kong, China.

Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hunan have secretly indicted the "Changsha Three" non-governmental organization (NGO) workers, family members and rights groups said.

Cheng Yuan, Liu Dazhi, and Wuge Jianxiong were indicted in secret for "subversion of state power" by prosecutors in Hunan's provincial capital, Changsha, on June 24.

The three were detained last year, as they worked for a non-government group called Changsha Funeng.

Cheng Yuan's wife Shi Minglei learned of the charges only after calling the Changsha Procuratorate for an update on July 10, the overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said in an e-mail.

Shi was informed that the indictments had been issued and the case transferred to the Changsha Intermediate People's Court to await trial, it said.

The move came after the firing of six defense attorneys and the three Changsha Funeng staff in March.

"[Cheng, Liu and Wuge] have not received a single visit from their family-hired attorneys since being taken into custody on July 22, 2019 nor allowed any communication with their families," CHRD said.

They are being currently being held at the Kaifu District Detention Center in Changsha, it said.

Shi told RFA on Friday that the case against her husband and his co-defendants had been marked by procedural violations, and was akin to an extrajudicial procedure.

"This case hasn't gone through the system in the usual way at all," she said. "It is dithering about outside of the system."

"We have tried to get in touch with the judge, Zhao Zhe, and we have called his office number, but nobody ever picks up," Shi said. "When we went to the detention center, we unexpectedly ran into a government-appointed defense attorney."

Pressure to 'confess'

Authorities in China have repeatedly put pressure on political prisoners to accept government-appointed lawyers, and to achieve a more lenient sentence by "confessing" to the charges against them.

In some cases, they have issued letters "firing" the defense attorneys hired by their families.

"So I called the government-appointed lawyer, and they said that the pretrial meeting had already happened," Shi said. "I think this means that they're going to go ahead with a secret trial very soon, maybe next week."

"The so-called government lawyer had no independence to speak of," she said, adding that non-government lawyers had been reluctant to take on the case. "So I really don't expect a proper defense."

Human rights and political cases can lead to trouble for law firms and the suspension of lawyers' licenses to practice.

Changsha Funeng founder Yang Zhanqing, who is now in the U.S., said the Changsha Three were detained as part of a general crackdown on the organization.

"Cheng, Liu, and Wuge had been very low profile, and very rarely made any kind of public comment on their work," Yang said. "They even tried to minimize police harassment by doing all of their legal advocacy work in an individual capacity."

"They never spoke on behalf of Changsha Funeng."

Yang said the main reason the authorities had targeted the three men was the fact that their rights work had received overseas funding, which the ruling Chinese Communist Party regards as "collusion with hostile foreign forces," and a threat to its national security.

On 24 June 2020, Cheng Yuan, Liu Dazhi, and Wuge Jianxiong, detained NGO workers, were formally indicted on subversion charges after their lawyers were fired by prosecutors in Changsha, China.

Human rights lawyer Chen Jiahong (???) (aka Chen Wendan, ???), was put on trial in a closed-door hearing on �inciting subversion� charges at the Yulin City Intermediate Court, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on June 24. It�s unclear whether Mr. Chen had legal representation during the trial, as he had been pressured to fire the lawyers of his choice in March after telling one he had been mistreated in detention. The trial came more than one year after he was taken into custody. The charges against him have been linked to his online speech critical of the government, his condemnation of the abolition of presidential term limits, as well as his pro-democracy views. Mr. Chen had been held at the Yulin City Detention Center.

On 24 June 2020, Chen Jiahong, human rights lawyer, was tried for subversion after spending over a year of pre-trial detention and being forced to fire his lawyer by a court in Yulin, China.

The Suzhou Intermediate Court in Jiangsu Province sentenced human rights defender Ge Jueping (???) to 4.5 years in jail on �inciting subversion of state power� charges on June 24. Mr. Ge has already been subjected to a 3-year and 8-month prolonged pre-trial detention, including being put under �residential surveillance in a designated location.� His trial took place more than a year ago on May 13, 2019. Mr. Ge, who suffers from serious illnesses, including hypertension, heart palpitations, parotid gland cancer, has not received proper medical treatment at the detention center.

On 24 June 2020, Ge Jueping, detained pro-democracy defender, was handed down 4-years jail term on catch-all charge despite poor health conditions by a court in Suzhou, China.

China's state security police have formally arrested dissident Xu Zhiyong for subversion after he called publicly on President Xi Jinping to resign.

Xu, who has already served jail time for his spearheading of the New Citizens' Movement anti-corruption campaign, penned an open letter to Xi while in hiding following a gathering of pro-democracy activists and lawyers in December 2019, calling on him to step down.

He is currently being held incommunicado in "residential surveillance at a designated location" (RSDL) pending the completion of the investigation.

RSDL allows police to hold anyone they say is suspected of crimes linked to national security without contact with family or a lawyer for up to six months.

Xu is currently being investigated for "incitement to subvert state power by a team of state security police based in the eastern province of Shandong that has been pursuing a number of participants in December's gathering in the southeastern port city of Xiamen.

Human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi is a co-defendant in the same case, RFA has learned.

Xu Zhiyong's sister was notified by the Shandong police on June 20 that Xu had been formally arrested, but his location remains unknown.

Xu Zhiyong's friend and independent documentary director Hua Ze meanwhile said the "meeting" was merely a gathering of friends.

"The police are treating this as if it is a big case, and claiming that there is an organization at work, but actually it was just a group of friends getting together," Hua said.

"They were just talking about how to help some of the current [detained activists'] cases, and follow up on them," she said.

Liu Jiacai, a rights activist from the Yangtze river city of Yichang who is often targeted by state security police, said he is currently safe at home after being taken out of town for the sensitive June 4 anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre.

"Xu had written a lot of articles since the start of the coronavirus pandemic," Liu said. "Anyone who attended the Xiamen gathering is now being suppressed by the authorities, and many people no longer dare to speak out."

"But Xu kept insisting on speaking up ... I feel bad that he was detained, as his friend and fellow activist," he said.

Liu said the Xiamen gathering was a meeting of like-minded friends who discussed social phenomena and China's future.

"We did not violate the Constitution or the current laws of China, but the authorities have persecuted us anyway," he said.

Fears over possible torture

Ding Jiaxi�s wife Luo Shengchun says she fears her husband, who is also being held under RDSL detention, may be being tortured.

"My sense is that he is being subjected to torture," Luo told RFA. "The people who came out [after being interrogated as part of the investigation] wouldn't talk about it; they had been silenced."

"This is clearly about framing Ding Jiaxi; they haven't been able to find any evidence of criminal behavior, but they will keep on finding excuses to keep him in detention because he refuses to plead guilty," she said.

Luo said she is certain that Ding Jiaxi will never cave in to police pressure to "confess" to the charges against him.

"This is a red line for him, because he is innocent," Luo said. "They came before to try to persuade him, and he told them they should be trying to persuade the bad guys not to do bad things, not trying to persuade the good guys not to do good things."

Writers' group PEN America, which recently honored Xu with the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, on Monday condemned Xu's formal arrest.

"Xu Zhiyong is under arrest for criticizing the government, plain and simple," PEN CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement. "By proceeding with these meritless charges of �subversion,� the government is using the law as a tool to legitimize its suppression of dissidents. But criticisms are not crimes, no matter how much Beijing insists otherwise."

She added: "We have zero confidence that Xu will receive a fair trial. We insist that the government drop these absurd and abusive criminal charges against him, and acknowledge his right to express his ideas and opinions without fear of a jail cell."

Critical flaws in proposed resolution

The news of Xu's formal arrest emerged as the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) held a brief debate in Geneva on June 22 over a draft resolution presented by China, raising "serious concerns" about the future of the Human Rights Council and, more broadly, the multilateral UN human rights system, rights groups said.

The overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said there were "critical flaws" in the resolution, which would limit the council's ability to hold member states to account for human rights violations.

"The draft resolution, once put into effect, would codify language directly taken from Chinese Communist Party propaganda � namely, China�s promotion for a �shared community of future� modeled on its authoritarian governance at home � and its attempt to silence criticisms of rights abuses in the Human Rights Council platforms," the group said in a statement.

Xu had also penned a New Year's message to China's citizens in 2020, calling on them to think about whether they want to carry on with an authoritarian government or movement towards democratic constitutionalism, an idea that President Xi has said has no place in his vision for China.

Dozens of people linked in some way to the New Citizens' Movement group have been detained and jailed in recent years.

Xu was handed a four-year jail term in January 2014 on public order charges after staging a street protest calling for greater transparency from the country's richest and most powerful people.

Ding Jiaxi, who has previously served jail time for calling on top officials of the ruling Chinese Communist Party to reveal details of their wealth, was stopped by police at Beijing International Airport in May 2018, as he tried to board a plane to visit his wife and daughter in the U.S.

He was also among more than 300 rights attorneys, law firm staff, and associated activists detained, questioned, and subjected to surveillance and travel bans amid a nationwide crackdown since 2015.

Ding was earlier detained in April 2013 and handed a three-and-a-half year jail term a year later by Beijing's Haidian District People's Court for �gathering a crowd to disrupt public order,� after he called publicly on Chinese officials to reveal details of their wealth, as part of the New Citizens� Movement.

On 21 June 2020, Xu Zhiyong, detained pro-democracy defender, was formally arrested by the police, while his whereabouts remain unknown in Shandong Province, China

Authorities in Shanghai have formally arrested a lawyer-turned-citizen journalist who reported on the emerging coronavirus epidemic in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Zhang Zhan, who lives in Shanghai but who traveled to Wuhan in early February, was taken away from Wuhan's Caiguang Hotel near Hankou railway station on the night of May 14.

She was held by police near her home in Shanghai's Pudong district on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge frequently used to target peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

Zhang was then formally arrested on that charge on June 19 on the orders of the Pudong state prosecutor, RFA has learned. She is currently being held in the Pudong Detention Center.

Repeated calls to Zhang's mother rang unanswered on Monday.

But a friend of Zhang's surnamed Zhu said she had denied the charges when she met with her defense attorney two weeks earlier.

"Zhang Zhan has been formally arrested for picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," Zhu said. "Shortly after Zhang Zhan was detained, a lawyer went to Pudong Detention Center to meet with her, and she told him she was pleading not guilty."

Zhu said Zhang's mother had received a notification of her daughter's arrest, but was too frightened to talk to journalists following heavy pressure from state security police, and hadn't publicized the arrest details.

Zhu said her friend had traveled to Wuhan after lockdown began purely to report on the situation there.

"She found a way to get into Wuhan after the city was locked down," Zhu said. "That was such a big risk to take; she has an extraordinary spirit not available to most people, to the extent that she was willing to risk arrest, and even her life."

'She is very strong-minded'

An overseas-based friend of Zhang's surnamed Lang said he was sad to learn of her arrest.

"I had been expecting it, though, because this isn't her first rodeo," he said. "She was previously detained for supporting the anti-extradition movement [in Hong Kong]."

"I am worried about her, because she is a practicing Christian with a strong tendency towards martyrdom," he said. "She is very strong-minded."

Zhang, 40, was detained by police in Shanghai in September 2019 for holding up an umbrella in solidarity with the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement on the streets of Shanghai, and demanding an end to Communist Party rule.

She was released after 65 days in detention, during which time she went on hunger strike twice.

Zhang moved to Shanghai from the northern province of Shaanxi in 2010, and formerly worked as a lawyer before official retaliation took away her license to practice.

In Zhang's last YouTube video posted on May 13, she had reported on the impact of a huge fall in passenger numbers on the livelihoods of Wuhan's taxi drivers, as well as loss of employment in the wake of the lockdown among the city's residents.

She also spoke out against the intimidation of local people by the urban management police, or chengguan, and about a sense of despair at life in China.

Thousands targeted for speaking out

The Chinese government has targeted thousands of people for speaking out about the coronavirus epidemic in the country since it began in late December in the central city of Wuhan.

After President Xi Jinping said he would lead "a people's war" on the epidemic on Jan. 20, police handled 5,111 cases of "fabricating and deliberately disseminating false and harmful information," according to a Feb. 21 statement from the ministry of public security.

Between Jan. 1 and March 26, nearly 900 internet users were penalized by police for their online speech or info-sharing about the coronavirus epidemic, across almost every province, region, and municipality in China.

Charges used to question, detain, and arrest people included "rumor-mongering," "fabricating false information," �sowing panic,� �disturbing public order,� and "breach of privacy."

Cases in which people were accused of "spreading misinformation" or "disrupting public order" accounted for more than 96 percent of cases, according to the overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network.

CHRD said on Monday it has documented "a dozen cases" of detainees or prisoners of conscience being denied access to their lawyers and families, including virtual meetings, on coronavirus grounds.

The group called on the government to stop using the pandemic as a pretext to restrict people's rights.

"In some instances, Chinese officials have stated that the suspensions are �indefinite� or until the pandemic is over, even if lockdown restrictions elsewhere have already begun to be lifted and authorities have declared that public health milestones have been met," CHRD said in a statement on its website.

Among those affected are ailing citizen journalist and rights activist Huang Qi, veteran dissident Qin Yongmin, Tibetan activist and businessman Tashi Wangchuk, and activist Chen Jianfang.

Detained lawyers Hao Jinsong and Li Yuhan have also been denied meetings with their defense lawyers, as have detained activists Liu Jinxing, Shen Liangqing, Xie Wenfei, Xu Kun, and Zhang Baocheng, CHRD said.

On 19 June 2020, Zhang Zhan, detained lawyer-turned-citizen journalist, was formally indicted on vague charges by the state prosecutor of Shanghai, China.

A Chinese court has secretly convicted and handed down a four-year jail sentence to one of China�s most outspoken human rights lawyers, Yu Wensheng, on the charge of �inciting subversion of state power�, according to his wife.

Yu�s wife, Xu Yan, told the Guardian that she was informed by phone by the prosecutor�s office in Xuzhou city in the eastern province of Jiangsu that her husband�s term was ordered in a closed door sentencing on Wednesday morning. The Xuzhou city intermediate people�s court also deprived Yu of his political rights, meaning he is barred from serving in public positions, publishing and speaking publicly, for three years.

His sentencing comes after his secret trial in May 2019, which took place without the knowledge of his family.

During Yu�s more than two years in detention, he was barred from meeting his family and the lawyers they hired, and there were widespread fears that he was tortured in custody. In April last year, the UN working group on arbitrary detention said Yu should be released.

His wife said Yu was �in a very isolated situation� as none of his relatives, including herself, or lawyers appointed by the family were present at the trial.

�He can�t accept this outcome. He would appeal,� his wife said. �I demand his unconditional release.�

As one of the staunchest government critics in the country, Yu had repeatedly weighed in on politically sensitive issues despite intensifying efforts to stifle dissent under China�s leader Xi Jinping.

Yu, 52, was picked up by police near his home in Beijing on 19 January 2018 as he walked his son to school and later charged with inciting subversion of state power. The day before, he published an online post calling for the removal of Xi and for reforms in the legal and political systems. Three months earlier, Yu also demanded Xi�s resignation in an open letter, accusing China under his rule as �marching backwards�. Yu�s legal licence was revoked shortly before he was taken away.

Yu had long been seen as a thorn in the side of the authorities. He had tried to sue authorities for failing to shield Chinese citizens from pollution and represented activists and dissidents, including Wang Quanzhang, a fellow attorney who vanished into detention in the summer of 2015 and was later sentenced to four-and-a-half-years in jail for subversion. Wang was released in early April this year but was barred from being reunited with his family for weeks.

Yu had also been detained for more than three months in 2014 after voicing his support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and was tortured in detention.

Amnesty International�s Asia-Pacific regional director, Nicholas Bequelin, said Yu�s sentencing is �nothing but political persecution dressed up as legal process�.

�The secret sentencing of yet another human rights lawyer marks a new low for what is left of the rule of law in China,� he said.

US-based rights group Chinese Human Rights Defenders said Yu joined �a long list of Chinese human rights lawyers, activists, dissidents, and journalists� convicted on national security charges for exercising and defending human rights.

�China is in the process of imposing a national security law on Hong Kong to further the suppression of free expression and assembly in the territory,� it said.

The Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group and 17 other international rights groups and individuals issued a joint statement to condemn Yu�s sentencing and urged his immediate release.

On 17 June 2020, Yu Wensheng, detained human rights lawyer secretely convicted to four-year jail term by a court in Xuzhou, China.

Responding to today�s targeting of nine more activists in connection with Hong Kong�s June Fourth Tiananmen vigil, in addition to four arrests carried out yesterday, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong Man-Kei Tam said:

�The targeting of is the latest assault on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in the city. With China's Orwellian national security law coming, the Hong Kong authorities appear emboldened to ramp up repression of critical voices.

�The June Fourth vigil is a moment for people in Hong Kong to remember those killed in the Tiananmen crackdown 31 years ago, and for the authorities to use this peaceful event as a means of targeting critics is sickening.

�A year to the day after Hong Kong Police infamously targeted protesters with excessive force during mass demonstrations, the crackdown on Hong Kong�s freedoms is unrelenting.

�But as shown by those who peacefully took to the streets today to mark the 12 June anniversary, people will continue to peacefully advocate for those freedoms and will not be cowed by repression.�

Background

Between 11 and 12 June, police informed 13 individuals that they will receive a summons to appear in court in late June for �inciting� others to take part in unauthorized assemblies on 4 June.

Ten of those targeted are members of the HK Alliance, which has organized the annual vigil in Hong Kong�s Victoria Park to commemorate the Tiananmen crackdown.

Last week, Hong Kong police banned the vigil for the first time in 30 years, citing COVID-19 measures. The ban did not stop thousands from convening in the park, and even more holding smaller events elsewhere.

The 13 people targeted include the chairperson of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China (HK Alliance) Lee Cheuk-yan; vice-chairpersons Albert Ho Chun-yan and Chow Hang-tung; secretary Richard Tsoi; core members Cheung Man-kwong, Mak Hoi-wah, Andrew Wan Siu-kin, Chiu Yan-loi, Leung Yiu-chung and Leung Kam-wai; vice president of the Labour Party Steven Kwok Wing-kin; vice convenor of the NGO Civil Human Rights Front Figo Chan Ho-wun; and founder of media group Next Digital Jimmy Lai.

On the evening of 3�4 June, 1989 in Beijing�s Tiananmen Square, hundreds � possibly thousands � of people were killed when troops opened fire on students and workers who had been peacefully calling for political and economic reforms as well as an end to corruption. No one knows the exact number of fatalities since the Chinese authorities have stifled and censored discussion of the crackdown for the past three decades.

On 11 June 2020, 13 NGO staff were summoned by the police for allegedly organising an assembly in violation to COVID-19 restrictions to commemorate Tienanmen massacre in Hong Kong, China.

On June 10th, almost a year after the brief occupation of the Legislative Council building (LegCo) during a pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong, two journalists at the scene have been slammed with new charges of rioting which in the law carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence, but is in this case is limited to seven years due to the fact it is judged by the District Court in Hong Kong.

Ma Kai-chung, a reporter from the online media Passion Times and Wong Ka-ho, the deputy chief-editor of the City University of Hong Kong�s student journal, will both be tried in August alongside 10 protestors and were initially only charged with �illegally entering and remaining in the Legislative Council chamber�, an offense which carries a maximum 3-month prison sentence.

�These two journalists were only performing their professional duty by documenting the occupation of the Legislative Council building and should never be indicted, and especially not charged with a crime that carries a 10-year jail term�, says C�dric Alviani, Reporters Without Borders� (RSF) East Asia bureau head, who calls on the Hong Kong Secretary for Justice to �immediately drop the absurd rioting charge.�

On the night of July 1st 2019, a date that marked the 22nd anniversary of the former British colony�s handover to China, a small group of protesters stormed the Legislative Council building, whilst over half a million Hong Kong residents took to the streets protesting against a now withdrawn bill that would have allowed extradition to the mainland.

According to the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), Hong Kong�s press freedom dropped to a record low in 2019, largely as a result of police violence. RSF has raised the issue of violence against journalists in a letter last July addressed to Carrie Lam, head of the Hong Kong executive, but received only a canned response.

The Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong has fallen from 18th place in 2002 to 80th place in this year�s RSF Press Freedom Index. The People's Republic of China stagnates at the bottom of the index in 177th place out of a total of 180 countries.

On 10 June 2020, Ma Kai-chung and Wong Ka-ho, media workers, were charged with riot for reporting Hong Kong protest a year before by a Hong Kong court in China.

Pro-democracy Xiao Yuhui was taken away by Guangdong police after forwarding a petition addressed to President Trump.

On May 27, police in China took Xiao into custody shortly after he had passed the petition on to his friends. At least one other person was arrested after spreading the petition, but she was released on bail on May 30.

Xiao was released on May 31.

This is not the first time Xiao has been in custody. In October 2016, police detained him for owing more than 18,000 yuan in credit card fees. In June 2017, he received a nine-month sentence for suspected credit card fraud.

He also has taken part in a variety of activist activities. He attended an anti-national education rally in Hong Kong in 2012. On March 8, he planned to distribute voting cards at a subway station and was interviewed by state security. He has followed China�s family planning policy for a long time and has been forbidden from leaving the country.

The petition, titled, �One Person, One Letter to Save Hong Kong,� was first started by Hong Kong�s Apple Daily. It urged Trump to intervene on behalf of Hong Kong after Beijing pushed forward a national security law for the region.

Agreements reached between China and Britain as Hong Kong transitioned into Chinese control in 1997 required Hong Kong maintain its own judicial, legislative, and economic systems. Hong Kong also follows a partially-democratic model, in which residents are allowed to elect some of their officials. These elements permitted Hong Kong residents more freedom than people in mainland China, making it relatively safe for activists and religious people.

However, the new national security law has furthered concerns that those freedoms are being eroded. A version of the law implemented in mainland China is often used to target religious people and dissidents.

As of May 30, the , �One Person, One Letter to Save Hong Kong� petition had more than 110,000 signatures.

American policymakers have taken action on behalf of Hong Kong�s rights in the past few weeks. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared Hong Kong no longer autonomous from China, a significant move that could have trade ramifications. On May 29, Trump gave a speech, saying:

�Several of the most significant actions we are taking pertained to deeply troubling situations unfolding in Hong Kong. This week China unilaterally imposed control over Hong Kong�s security. This was a plain violation of Beijing's treaty obligations, with the United Kingdom, in the declaration of 1984 and explicit provisions of Hong Kong's Basic Law. It has 27 years to go.

The Chinese government's move against Hong Kong is the latest in a series of measures that are diminishing the city's long-standing and very proud status.

This is a tragedy for the people of Hong Kong, the people of China, and indeed the people of the world.

China claims it is protecting national security. But the truth is that Hong Kong was secure and prosperous as a free society. Beijing's decision reverses all of that. It extends the reach of China's evasive state security apparatus into what was formerly a bastion of liberty.

China's latest incursion, along with other recent developments that degraded the territory�s freedoms, makes clear that Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous to warrant the special treatment that we have afforded the territory since the hand of it.

China has replaced its promise formula of �one country, two systems� with �one country, one system.� Therefore, I am directing my administration to begin the process of eliminating policy exemptions that give Hong Kong different and special treatment.

My announcement today will affect the full range of agreements we have with Hong Kong, from our extradition treaty to our export controls on dual-use technologies and more with few exceptions.

We will be revising the State Department's travel advisory for Hong Kong to reflect the increased danger of surveillance and punishment by the Chinese state security apparatus.

We will take action to revoke Hong Kong's preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory from the rest of China.

The United States will also take necessary steps to sanction PRC and Hong Kong officials directly or indirectly involved in eroding Hong Kong's autonomy and so just if you take a look, smothering absolutely smothering Hong Kong's freedom.

Our actions will be strong. Our actions will be meaningful.

More than two decades ago, on a rainy night in 1997, British soldiers lowered the Union Flag and Chinese soldiers raised the Chinese flag in Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong felt simultaneously proud of their Chinese heritage and their unique Hong Kong identity.

The people of Hong Kong hoped that in the years and decades to come, China would increasingly come to resemble its most radiant and dynamic city. The rest of the world was electrified by a sense of optimism that Hong Kong was a glimpse into China's future. Not that, Hong Kong would grow into a reflection of China's past.�

On 27 May 2020, Xiao Yuhui, pro-democracy defender, was arrested by the police for joining an online petition demanding democracy in Hong Kong in Guangdong Province, China.

Police in Hong Kong have fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters rallying against China's plans to impose a new security law on the territory.

Thousands of demonstrators have been marching through the city centre. Police say 120 have been arrested.

Earlier, 200 senior politicians from around the world issued a joint statement criticising China's plan.

But China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the legislation should be brought in "without the slightest delay".

China is seeking to pass a law that would ban "treason, secession, sedition and subversion" in the territory.

Activists fear it is an attempt to limit freedoms and silence Beijing's opponents.

Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam, who is seen as part of the pro-Beijing political establishment, has pledged full support for the proposed law and said the city's rights would remain unchanged.

China has dismissed concerns the legislation would harm foreign investors in Hong Kong, an important financial centre, and lashed out at "meddling" countries. How are the latest demonstrations unfolding?

Protesters gathered in the busy Causeway Bay and Wan Chai districts of the city on Sunday, chanting slogans against the government and waving banners.

Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at demonstrators, who were wearing face masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus.

The rally comes despite earlier warnings from authorities against unauthorised assembly and a ban on large public gatherings to enforce social distancing.

Some protesters threw objects such as umbrellas and water bottles at officers, and used bins and other debris to set up road blocks.

Reports say Sunday's protest followed a similar pattern to many of last year's demonstrations, many of which turned violent.

More than 8,400 people have been arrested in Hong Kong since pro-democracy protests erupted last year.

The "draft decision" - as it is known before approval by China's National People's Congress - includes an article that says Hong Kong "must improve" national security.

It adds: "When needed, relevant national security organs of the Central People's Government will set up agencies in Hong Kong to fulfil relevant duties to safeguard national security in accordance with the law."

That means China could potentially have its own law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong, alongside the city's own.

Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the plans, which he described as a "death knell" for the city's freedoms. The UK, Australia and Canada have also expressed their "deep concern".

Relations between Washington and Beijing are already strained over trade disputes and the coronavirus pandemic.

The US is currently considering whether to extend Hong Kong's preferential trading and investment privileges. President Trump has also weighed in, saying the US would react strongly if the law went through - without giving details.

Speaking on Sunday, Mr Wang accused countries said "some political forces in the US" were pushing the two countries "to the brink of a new Cold War".

The Chinese government argues the law is necessary to "prevent, stop and punish" protests such as those that rocked Hong Kong last year. They were sparked by a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.

The statement was drafted by former Hong Kong Governor Christopher Patten and former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, and signed by 186 policy makers and politicians from 23 countries.

It describes Beijing's plans as a "flagrant breach" of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, under which Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

"If the international community cannot trust Beijing to keep its word when it comes to Hong Kong, people will be reluctant to take its word on other matters," the signatories wrote.

They include 17 members of the US Congress, and 44 UK MPs.

The NPC is expected to vote on the draft law at the end of its annual session, on 28 May. It will then be forwarded to the NPC's Standing Committee, China's top legislature, which is expected to finalise and enact the law by the end of June.

On 24 May 2020, at least 120 pro-democracy defenders were arrested by the police, who used tear gas and water cannon against thousands during a protest against the new security law in Hong Kong, China.

Human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong was harassed ahead of the convening of two of China�s governing bodies this week.

Yesterday, some of China�s top politicians met, including Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping. Afterward, the National People�s Congress convened. These two sets of meetings comprise one of China�s most major annual political events.

Before the meetings took place, officials harassed and monitored Jiang Tianyong, a human rights attorney. Jiang�s family said national security officers constructed tents so they could monitor Jiang continuously. Cameras were installed at the front door and at the intersection of roads. On Wednesday, an officer approached the door, punched it, shook the fence, and peeped inside the house.

It is not unusual for China to harass activists ahead of major events.

Jiang has previously served prison time for his work defending those targeted by the Chinese government. Even now that he has been released, officials watch him closely and have surrounded him when he has tried to go to restaurants.

He suffers from swollen legs and pain in his waist, but the officials will not let him seek medical treatment in Beijing.

On 20 May 2020, Jiang Tianyong, human rights lawyer, was intimidated and monotired by security forces ahead of Government meeting in Beijing, China.

Wei Zhongping, an activist, has been closely monitored in the past six months since he was released and was warned by authorities about his online speech. On Thursday, May 14, he was summoned by police on the charge of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and was still detained at dusk.

Wei had dropped off meals at the home of Liu Ping, another activist, on Thursday morning and was subsequently taken to the Ludong police station in Xinyu by auxiliary police. A police officer showed the summons paper, claiming it is due to his involvement in picking quarrels and provoking trouble. He was detained until that night. The neighborhood committee had also called Wei on the phone the day of his arrest, reminding him that he should report where he goes. Liu estimated that these two occurrences are related.

Liu said, �If he was released, he would contact us immediately. We hope that it can draw others� attention because we are vulnerable. We have been closely monitored since being released, and we can not send anything we want via our cell phones. The neighborhood committee checked in on us multiple times on the excuse of caring for us, asking where we will go.�

She also said that Xinyu�s state security officers with police and leaders of the neighborhood committee came to Wei�s home a couple of weeks ago, warning him, but she didn�t know details. Earlier on, state security officers and police came to Liu�s place as well, warning her not to post anything sensitive, and her WeChat account is often blocked. Liu posted something about the coronavirus on WeChat, and as a result, she received a warning.

Wei was beaten during his last detention, leading to a broken nose and ribs. He filed complaints but never received an explanation. As a result of the abuse, he has poor health and no money for doctor appointments.

On April 28, 2013, Wei, Liu, and fellow activist Li Sihua were arrested because they held banners at the entry of the complex where Liu lives, calling for the release of detained citizens. The three became known as the �Three Xinyu Gentlemen.� On May 7, they were criminally detained by the Xinyu police on the charge of inciting subversion of state power. Later, the charge was changed to �picking quarrels and provoking trouble,� �assembling a crowd to disturb public order,� and �utilizing a cult to obstruct law enforcement.� On June 18, 2014, Wei and Liu were both sentenced to six-and-a-half years and Li to three years. Wei and Liu were released on Oct. 27, 2019.

Wei, a 57-year-old originally from Xiaogan, Hubei, used to work for a steel company in Jiangxi province. He, as an independent candidate, participated in the election of deputies to the National People�s Congress in 2006. In 2009, he met Liu during a labor dispute lawsuit and sued the Xinyu Municipal Labor Supervisory Department for administrative violation on her behalf. He also worked to repeal his steel company�s retirement system.

On 14 May 2020, Wei Zhongping, pro-democracy defender, was arrested by the police after six-month surveillance over alleged illegal activities conducted in Xinyu, China.

Chinese authorities must immediately release journalist Zhang Zhan, drop any charges against her, and ensure that the media can cover the coronavirus pandemic without fear of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Zhang, an independent video journalist who had been posting reports from Wuhan on Twitter and YouTube since early February, went missing in the city on May 14, one day after she published a video critical of the government�s countermeasures to contain the virus, according to news reports.

On May 15, the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a notice stating that Zhang had been arrested and detained for �picking quarrels and provoking trouble,� and was being held at the Pudong Xinqu Detention Center, according to those reports.

If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison, according to the Chinese criminal code.

�China professes pride in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, but appears deathly afraid of allowing independent journalists like Zhang Zhan to freely tell the story of what is happening,� said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler, in Washington, D.C. �Chinese authorities should free Zhang immediately and allow her to continue the important work of documenting the impact of the disease.�

Since arriving in Wuhan in early February, Zhang posted videos including interviews with local business owners who were severely impacted by the pandemic, and with workers who struggled to find work in the city.

CPJ called the Wuhan Public Security Bureau for comment, but no one answered. An officer at the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau told CPJ to call the Pudong Xinqu Detention Center for information about Zhang�s arrest. CPJ called the center, but no one answered.

Video journalist Chen Quishi, who traveled to Wuhan to report on the pandemic in late January, went missing after telling his family that he planned to visit a temporary hospital on February 6, as CPJ documented at the time.

Freelance journalist Li Zehua, who also went missing in the city after posting two live-stream videos claiming that state security agents were pursuing him on February 26, reappeared two months later claiming that he was quarantined by police because he had been to �sensitive epidemic areas,� according to news reports.

On 14 May 2020, Zhang Zhan, blogger went missing, and was arrested by the police on the next day for online criticising Government measures to tackle the pandemic in Wuhan, China.

Hong Kong police arrested more than 250 people in Mong Kok on Sunday night following a day of anti-government protests across the city.

A source said about 200 of those were detained on suspicion of unlawful assembly. Earlier in the day, hundreds of protesters gathered in at least 10 shopping malls to chant slogans and sing Glory to Hong Kong, the anthem of the anti-government movement .

Police said they arrested one man who had materials capable of making petrol bombs.

In the evening, a small group of protesters in the busy Mong Kok shopping district attempted to block roads by setting trash and rubbish bins on fire but were quickly dispersed by police.

Officers in riot gear then took up guard on the street, firing pepper spray on a number of occasions, including twice at reporters, and taking away several people.

Democratic Party legislator Roy Kwong Chun-yu, who turned up in Mong Kok to negotiate with police, was subdued by several officers as he crossed a street, with one pressing his knee onto the politician�s head. The party wrote on its Facebook page that Kwong was to be charged with disorderly behaviour and brought to Hung Hom Police Station. Earlier, protesters circulated messages online, urging people to gather in malls by 3pm. The shopping centres included Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, Cityplaza in Taikoo Shing and Moko Mall in Mong Kok. Since April 26, when hundreds gathered in Cityplaza to chant slogans, Hong Kong has seen a revival of protests, which had died down because of the Covid-19 pandemic .

The protesters had earlier planned a march from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mong Kok demanding the resignation of Hong Kong�s embattled leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. But the event was postponed indefinitely after police objected on the grounds of restrictions on public gatherings to curb the spread of the virus.

In Tsim Sha Tsui, dozens of officers had been on patrol from the early afternoon. At least a dozen people were searched and two were taken to police vehicles. At about 3pm, a crowd of people, including some with placards, gathered on the steps leading to Harbour City. The crowd retreated into the mall after officers marched towards the building, but police did not initially enter the mall and protesters continued to chant slogans.

Shortly after 4pm, police entered the shopping centre, saying there was a public gathering of more than eight people inside. A few people were stopped inside as police cordoned off parts of the mall.

Among those taken away was a 12-year-old boy who claimed to be a student reporter. He was later released after police warned his mother against allowing him to take part in �illegal child labour�.

The boy said: �Police asked me twice if I was working as an illegal child worker, but I explained I was only a volunteer.�

The boy said he was volunteering for Student Depth Media, a student-run news organisation set up this February. The group also issued a statement on its Facebook page and said the boy was working for it on a voluntary basis, and labour laws did not apply. It also said a 16-year-old girl who worked for the group had been taken away by police too.

In Mong Kok, police armed with non-lethal guns also entered Moko Mall in the afternoon, and fired what was believed to be a pepper ball to disperse protesters.

One man was arrested after officers seized items including petrol, towels and several lighters after intercepting a group of protesters, the force later said on its Facebook page.

Police said they did not rule out the possibility the materials, purportedly for making petrol bombs, would be used, seriously endangering public safety.

Officers also entered other malls and told people to leave.

Earlier in the day, police asked media personnel to disperse from Tsim Sha Tsui, warning that they might be violating the ban on public gatherings of more than eight people, a restriction put in place to help halt the spread of Covid-19. A Post reporter was searched despite showing his press card.

During the search, an officer told him: �Don�t play with your phone, smartphones are fragile these days.�

Another officer filmed the journalist after he was asked to remove his mask. He was later let go.

Among the crowd at Harbour City was a family of four celebrating Mother�s Day.

The mother said she was not aware a protest was planned but it did not affect her. �I explained to my daughters what [the protesters] were trying to say,� she said.

A 19-year-old student, who did not want to be named, said he expected protests to become more frequent as the coronavirus came under control locally.

�With or without the ban, people will come out, and those who are out are prepared to be arrested,� he said.

Some shops at Harbour City closed early, but others served customers with shutters closed.

In a statement, a police spokesman said protesters had gathered in various shopping malls across the city, holding banners, shouting slogans and undermining public order.

�Police received reports from the public and entered the malls to enforce the law,� he added, noting that gatherings of more than eight people in public places were prohibited. Protests first broke out in June last year, sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill. The demonstrations later evolved into a wider anti-government movement, with clashes between radical protesters and police turning increasingly violent. With the onset of the coronavirus crisis, the campaign began losing momentum.

On 10 May 2020, at least 250 pro-democracy defenders were arrested by the police for staging an anti-Government protest in Hong Kong, China.

Human rights lawyer Zhang Xuezhong was "taken away" by authorities on Sunday after writing an open letter criticising the Chinese government's Covid-19 response, the South China Morning Post reported, citing multiple sources.

According to SCMP, the 43-year-old constitutional scholar was forcibly removed from his Shanghai home on Sunday night after posting the letter on popular social media platform WeChat. The letter was addressed to deputies of China's National People's Congress and called out the country for its lack of a modern constitution and for its stifling of social freedoms, highlighted by the pandemic.

In his letter, seen by SCMP, Zhang said that the handling of the coronavirus pandemic was emblematic of deep-rooted issues within the country's leadership.

"The outbreak and spread of the Covid-19 epidemic is a good illustration of the problem," he wrote.

"Since January 3, 2020, the [Chinese] foreign ministry had been regularly notifying the US government about the epidemic, but the disease control department was not notifying the people of [China] at the same time. Such an irresponsible attitude towards their people's safety is rare," he continued.

"There were few independent professional media to investigate and report on the outbreak, nor did medical professionals provide independent advice to the public � It only shows that the government's long-term tight control of society and people has almost completely destroyed the organisation and self-help capabilities of Chinese society."

Zhang also admonished China's treatment of Li Wenliang, a doctor and coronavirus whistleblower who tried to warn his colleagues about a potential coronavirus outbreak in December. Li was forced by Chinese authorities to sign a letter acknowledging that he was "making false comments"; he later died from the coronavirus.

"Twenty-two days before [the country's first major lockdown] in the city, Wuhan was still investigating and punishing citizens who had disclosed the epidemic, including Dr. Li Wenliang � showing how tight and arbitrary the government's suppression of society is," Zhang said.

Zhang acknowledged that his letter would spark controversy, but encouraged others to speak out.

"The best way to fight for freedom of expression is for everyone to speak as if we already have freedom of speech," he wrote in his WeChat post alongside his letter.

According to SCMP, Zhang was removed from his teaching position at East China University of Political Science and Law in 2013 because of critical statements he made about the Chinese constitution. SCMP said calls to Zhang's mobile phone and messages sent to his WeChat account went unanswered on Monday.

China is known for censoring criticism of its policies, and dissenters have been jailed or disappeared after making complaints. Chinese government censors are working in overdrive to protect the party narrative its been drilling down on the country's response to the novel coronavirus, which originated in the city of Wuhan before spreading worldwide.

Last week, The New York Times reported that the Chinese government was silencing coronavirus survivors who want answers on what went wrong with the country's early coronavirus response.

The international community has also increased pressure on China for an independent investigation into the origins of the virus, as well as the country's response to the outbreak early on. The European Commission, Sweden, Australia, and others have been calling on China for more transparency in recent weeks.

On 10 May 2020, Zhang Xuezhong, human rights lawyer, went missing after being taken by the police for having shared on social media a letter critical to the Government COVID-19 response in Shanghai, China.

Hong Kong police used pepper spray on Friday to disperse over a hundred protesters in a shopping mall who were singing and chanting pro-democracy slogans.

The demonstrators sang the protest anthem "Glory to Hong Kong" and chanted "Glory to Hong Kong, revolution of our times" in the New Town Plaza mall in Hong Kong's New Territories.

As protesters gathered in the mall, riot police stopped and searched some and later told them to leave, saying they were violating social-distancing rules. The police then sprayed tear gas to disperse the crowd before cordoning off the atrium of the mall.

The protest was one of several that went ahead on May 1, Labor Day, despite rules that forbid public gatherings of more than four people.

Small groups of protesters also gathered near Kowloon's Mong Kok and Kwun Tong subway stations.

Organizers initially planned citywide protests but many were canceled, with the organizers urging people to support pro-democracy restaurants instead.

Friday's protests were the latest in a string of demonstrations over the past week in which protesters gathered in shopping malls. They follow the arrest of 15 pro-democracy activists and former lawmakers last Saturday.

The demonstrations are a continuation of a movement that began last June to protest an extradition bill that would have allowed detainees in Hong Kong to be transferred to mainland China. Although the bill was later withdrawn, the demonstrations continued for months before a lull starting in January as the coronavirus pandemic broke out.

On 1 May 2020, over a hundred pro-democracy defenders were attacked by the police including with tear gas while peacefully demonstrating in Hong Kong, China.

Chinese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Chen Jieren and his family members and associates, who have been prosecuted over Chen�s exercise of his right to free expression. A Chinese court handed down a 15-year prison sentence on April 30, 2020 to Chen Jieren (???) apparently to punish him for his political speech on WeChat and other social media platforms. After being sacked from various state newspapers including Southern Weekend, China Youth Daily, Beijing Daily, and People�s Daily, Chen published online commentaries and investigative reports on social media, including WeChat and Weibo channels called �Jieren Observation Viewpoint� and �Jieren Observation Heights.�

Guiyang County Court in Hunan Province convicted Chen Jieren of �picking quarrels and provoking trouble,� �extortion and blackmail,� �illegal business activity,� and �bribes� and handed down a 15-year prison sentence and 7.01 million RMB (990,000 USD) fine. The court also convicted his brother Chen Weiren (???) of �picking quarrels� and �extortion and blackmail� charges and sentenced him to four years in prison and a fine of 10,000 RMB (1,400 USD). An associate, Liu Min (??), was exempted from criminal penalties after being convicted of �picking quarrels.�

The Court statement said that Chen �used the information network to publish false or negative information, maliciously exaggerate certain mass incidents, attack and vilify the [Chinese Communist] Party and the government, judicial organs and their staff, instigate troubles, and extort public and private property.�

Hunan authorities violated Chen Jieren�s right to a fair trial. Chen and several of his family members and associates disappeared a few days after he disclosed on his social media channels alleged corruption by local CCP officials in late June-early July 2018. His detention was only confirmed on July 7. On July 16, 2018, Chenzhou City Supervisory Commission told Chen�s lawyers that Chen and his brother were under investigation by the Supervisory Commission and being held in �residential surveillance at a designated location� (RSDL). The brothers� lawyers were denied visits during the RSDL period. On November 12, 2018, Chen Jieren was criminally detained and formally arrested on November 20.

In August 2018, Chinese state media launched a smear campaign, accusing Chen of various crimes and quoted police as saying that his online speech �sabotaged the reputation of the Party and the government and damaged the government�s credibility.� State media published Chen�s �confession� while he was incommunicado in a secret detention facility under RSDL.

Chen graduated from Tsinghua University Law School and previously worked as a reporter for Chinese state newspapers. Chen was fired from China Youth Daily in 2003 for uncovering a prostitution ring involving students at Wuhan University which caused a scandal; he was demoted as editor-in-chief of China Philanthropy Times for criticising a government portal in 2006; and in 2011, sacked from his position in at People�s Daily Online�s Jiangsu Window for �too much criticism of the government.�

Chen�s heavy punishment sends a chilling signal to online independent commentators and citizen jounalists. In 2018, China�s Cyberspace Administration launched a crackdown on �self-media� and ordered hundreds of thousands of social media accounts to be deleted for spreading �politically harmful information� or �vulgar� content. Individual accounts on social media are widely used to post news stories or comments in China. Such publication venues are not registered with the government, though heavily censored, have allowed some independent reporting for at least a short period of time.

China is one of the worst countries in the world for press freedom. It was ranked #177th out of 180 on Reporters Without Border�s 2020 �World Press Freedom Index.� According to a 2019 report from the Committee to Protect Journalists, China is the 5th most censored country in the world. Both press freedom watchdogs have called for Chen Jieren�s release.

On 30 April 2020, Chen Jieren, media worker, was sentenced to 15-year imprisonment for his online cricitism of the Government by the Court of Guiyang County, China.

Hong Kong independence activist Edward Leung Tin-kei has lost an appeal against his six-year jail sentence for rioting in one of the city�s busiest districts four years ago.

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday also ruled against Lo Kin-man and Wong Ka-kui, who were jailed for seven years and 3� years respectively for rioting on the same night of February 8, 2016, in Mong Kok.

In rejecting the applications, Mr Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor said the trial judge was entitled to pass punitive and deterrent sentences on the trio, whose rioting offences had an immediate and extremely serious impact on the rule of law.

�Sentencing for the offence of riot must reflect the law�s determination to maintain public order, and send a clear message to society and the public that the law does not condone the breach of public order by means of violence,� Poon said, adding that one�s personal belief could not be a mitigating factor.

Poon, chief judge of the High Court, said the offences Leung, 28, committed were extremely serious as he had witnessed how the events unfolded but chose to remain at the scene despite the escalating violence.

He said that, while the trial judge did err in assessing Leung�s liability in the unrest, his overall jail term was not manifestly excessive given the severity of the offence.

The court also dismissed the appeals by Lo and Wong against their sentences, and Lo�s separate appeal against his conviction.

Leung�s lawyers said they would study the appeal court�s judgment before determining whether to lodge a final appeal at the top court. He was expected to serve out his sentence in January 2022.

Leung was the poster boy for the city�s pro-independence movement and the former convenor of the group Hong Kong Indigenous.

He rose to prominence while running in the 2016 Legislative Council elections, but was subsequently banned from taking part for advocating Hong Kong independence, and was jailed in 2018 for his role in the riot.

Leung and Lo were both convicted of rioting during the Mong Kok unrest, which erupted on the first night of the Lunar New Year. Leung and Wong also pleaded guilty respectively to assaulting a police officer and rioting.

During the trial at the Court of First Instance, prosecutors said the riot started out as a scuffle between hawker control officers and street vendors, but quickly descended into violence, during which some 500 protesters set fires on the streets and threw bricks and other objects at police.

A jury found Leung guilty of taking part in a riot on Argyle Street, where he also attacked a traffic officer with a wooden board. The jury also found Lo guilty of rioting on Portland Street at an earlier time.

Madam Justice Anthea Pang Po-kam, who jailed the trio, said the mass unrest was �organised violence� which could not be mitigated by a person�s political aspirations.

At the appeal court, lawyers for the trio argued their sentences were excessive.

Leung�s lawyers said Pang had wrongfully taken into account various aggravating factors in her sentencing consideration, including Leung�s presence in the riot on Portland Street although he was not convicted of taking part.

But the contention was rejected by Poon and appeal justices Carlye Chu Fun-ling and Derek Pang Wai-cheong.

The judges observed that, having witnessed how protesters clashed with police on Portland Street, it was only reasonable for Leung to infer that protesters on Argyle Street would launch similar attacks on officers there, but he still chose to take part.

While accepting that the trial judge was wrong in making Leung liable to an arson incident near the scene despite his lack of involvement, the judges said Leung�s sentence was justified given he had joined a group attack against officers for no reason.

�Even if [Leung�s] motive was to protect local traditions and culture, this could not lessen his culpability for rioting and unjustified use of serious violence on a police officer,� Poon said as he explained the ruling on behalf of the court.

The disturbance in Mong Kok saw 91 people, aged 14 to 70, arrested for rioting, taking part in an unlawful assembly, assaulting police officers or other offences. Of those, 64 were charged and 33 convicted.

Leung still had some supporters while in prison. Last year, he made an emotional appeal from behind bars, urging Hong Kong protesters �not to be dominated by hatred� amid the escalating unrest triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.

On 29 April 2020, Edward Leung, jailed pro-democracy defender, was rejected the appeal against harsh jail sentence by the Court of Appeal in Hong Kong, China.

Meanwhile, police detained activist Xie Wenfei on April 29 on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."

Xie is a veteran rights activist in China's Hunan province. He recently has criticized the detention of three young volunteers who archived censored information about COVID-19 online, and questioned the disappearance in Wuhan of citizen journalists Chen Qiushi and Fang Bing. He also signed an online petition to honor the COVID-19 whistleblower Dr. Li Wenliang.

"This is not the first arrest," his brother Xie Qiufeng told VOA. "The police didn't tell me anything specific. I think it's about what he had posted on WeChat again."

Born in 1977, Xie Yunfei is a veteran activist who has been detained many times for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly over the years. He previously served a 4.5-year prison sentence for supporting the 2014 Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong.

Xie's friend Ou Biaofeng, who is also an activist, told VOA that he's not surprised about Xie's arrest.

Ou said that in recent years, the government has severely reduced the space for civil liberties by rounding up rights lawyers, labor activists and citizen journalists. He added that anyone who expresses a slightly different opinion online will have their account blocked immediately.

"The pro-democracy movement in China has entered a freezing winter because of the crackdown," he said. "The pressure is just enormous. Also, for the past year or two, there's been less and less support of civil movements. It's quite sad."

The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders ranked China near the bottom of its 2020 press freedom index. The group said President Xi is tightening control over news and information and trying to export the country's oppressive surveillance systems.

On 29 April 200, Xie Wenfei, long-term pro-democracy activist, was arrested by the police after criticising the detention of fellow defenders over COVID-19 information sharing in Hunan Province, China.

The Chengdu City Lawyers� Association, a state-run agency, handed out a �professional reprimand� to discipline human rights lawyer Lu Siwei (???) on April 24, 2020. The Discipline Oversight Committee of the Association said in a written document that lawyer Lu violated the rules by representing another human rights lawyer, Chen Jiahong, based in Guangxi region, who has been detained and charged with �inciting subversion of state power.� The written reprimand will stay on lawyer Lu�s record, which may affect him during the annual review of his qualifications for keeping his lawyer�s license.

Lawyer Chen Jiahong was detained in April 2019, soon after he had posted a video on social media in which he criticized the Chinese Communist Party and President Xi Jinping, and called for China to move towards a more democratic and constitutional government. His lawyer Lu Siwei had tried to visit him but was blocked until a meeting was finally granted in December 2019. During the meeting, Chen disclosed that he had been subjected to deprivation of sleep, poor quality food, and other forms of mistreatment for refusing to admit guilt under coercion. On March 12, 2020, a Guangxi court notified lawyer Lu that Chen had �dismissed� him. Detaining outspoken lawyers and administratively penalizing these lawyers� lawyers have become routine practice in China. It violates international human rights standard on the right to a fair trial and interferes in the independence of lawyers.

On 24 April 2020, Lu Siwei, human rights lawyer. received disciplinary sanction from Chengdu City Lawyers� Association for defending a fellow lawyer in Chengdu, China.

On April 22, 2020, Dongbao District Court in Jingmen City convicted activist Liu Yanli (???) of �picking quarrels and provoking trouble� and sentenced her to four years in prison. Hubei police had criminally detained the activist on the �picking quarrels� charges on November 22, 2018 for �insulting and attacking the Chinese Communist Party� by criticizing former and current state leaders, including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Xi Jinping. She was tried on January 31, 2019 and sentenced over a year later on April 22, 2020. She is currently detained at Jingmen City Detention Center. Liu, 44, has been active on her Qzone and WeChat account making comments on democracy and politics since September 2009. Police repeatedly harassed her for her online speech. On September 26, 2016, she was criminally detained for eight months on suspicion of �libel� after she posted and reposted over 10 messages about Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Xi Jinping on her WeChat Moments. On May 25, 2018, she was placed under �residential surveillance� for six months for �libel�.

On 22 April 2020, Liu Yanli, detained WHRD, was sentenced to 4-year jail term for criticising state leaders by the court of Jingmen City, China.

Family members of Huang Qi, a human rights activist who was re-sentenced to prison for leaking state secrets last year, have been blocked from visiting him on the grounds of the epidemic. Huang�s mother, Pu Wenqing, was also denied a phone call with her son by prison officials.

A friend of Huang Qi's mother, Pu Wenqing, said on Wednesday, April 22 that yesterday, Pu Wenqing called the prison section chief Mr. Yang of Bazhong prison and was told that Huang Qi was serving a sentence in Area Four of the prison, which is for the old, weak and disabled. Due to the epidemic situation, no visit is allowed now. In addition, Pu Wenqing asked for a phone call with his son, but the prison authority said it would have to wait for the leader's approval, and didn't tell her about Huang Qi�s health. He is seriously ill and his family is very worried about his condition.

The friend said, "Pu Wenqing is worried about her son. She hopes she can go to see Huang Qi, or he can make a phone call. And only after speaking with her son on the phone will she stop worrying and feel relieved. She is worried about her son."

Considering Pu is over 80 years old and in poor health, she should be allowed to talk on the phone with her son. After the epidemic is over, visitation should also be permitted.

On July 29, 2019, Huang Qi was sentenced by the Mianyang Intermediate Court to 12 years for intentionally disclosing state secrets and illegally providing state secrets abroad, with four years of deprivation of political rights. He was held in detention for more than two years before being sentenced, during which he was tortured and forced to confess.

Before the latest arrest, Huang Qi, who set up the website "6.4 net" in 1999, has been jailed two times for his speech. In May 2003, he was sentenced by the Chengdu Intermediate Court for five years for inciting subversion of the state power. He was also sentenced by the Wuhou District Court of Chengdu City for three years for the crime of �illegally holding state secrets� in November 2009.

On 21 April 2020, Huang Qi, detained pro-democracy defender allegedly in poor health conditions, was prevented by the police from meeting his mother (Update)

Hong Kong police have arrested 15 high-profile democracy activists on charges of illegal assembly.

The arrests took place just hours after China�s top representative office in the semi-autonomous city declared it is not bound by Hong Kong�s constitutional restrictions that bar Chinese government from interfering in local affairs.

Police arrested prominent figures, including the media tycoon Jimmy Lai and 81-year-old Martin Lee, the founder of the Democratic party and a senior barrister, in the biggest crackdown on the pro-democracy movement since the sometimes violent anti-government protests that have rocked the former British colony since June last year.

The 15 people arrested allegedly organised and took part in unlawful assemblies and police do not rule out that more will be arrested, Supt Lam Wing-Ho said.

Also among the detained were the barrister Margaret Ng, lawyer Albert Ho, labour rights activist Lee Cheuk-yan, former legislators Leung Kwok-hung and Au Nok-hin, and younger activists such as Figo Chan, the vice-convener of the Civil Human Rights Front, which organised several mass protests approved by police last year.

The 15 were accused of joining three unapproved protests on 18 August, 1 October and 20 October last year, local media reported.

Pro-democracy lawmakers say the arrests are an attempt to silence the movement after Chinese officials told Hong Kong to enact national security legislation. Claudia Mo said Beijing was also trying to �terrorise Hong Kong opposition� ahead of the legislative council election in September.

The veteran China watcher, Johnny Lau, said Beijing is trying to hit hard at Hong Kong while the world is busy dealing with Covid-19.

�In Xi Jinping�s eyes this is an opportunity to shuffle the cards and to assert its narrative,� he said. �If the foreign countries turn a blind eye and fail to rein in [China�s power], they would also suffer.�

The arrests came just hours after China�s liaison office asserted in a strongly-worded statement that it and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) � China�s top bodies overseeing the city�s affairs � are �authorised by the central authorities to handle Hong Kong affairs.�

Earlier this week, the liason office�s chief, Luo Huining, called for controversial national security laws to be urgently passed as accusations of overreach by Beijing into the city�s legislative council and judiciary escalate.

Hong Kong was promised a �high degree of autonomy� for at least 50 years after China resumed control in 1997, under the Sino-British joint declaration. The city�s post-handover mini-constitution, the Basic Law, bars the mainland Chinese government from interfering in Hong Kong affairs, and article 22 states that no department under the Chinese central and local governments �may interfere in the affairs which the Hong Kong special administrative region administers on its own in accordance with this law.�

But the liaison office statement, published late on Friday, asserts that �a high degree of autonomy is not complete autonomy.� It stresses that Hong Kong�s right to self-rule is �authorised by the central government.�

The statement argues that the liaison office and the HKMAO �are not what is referred to in article 22 of the Basic Law, or what is commonly understood to be �departments under the central people�s government�.� It adds that the offices derive their authority both from China�s constitution and the Basic Law.

This week, pro-democracy lawmakers accused the Chinese government of �blatant intervention� and violation of article 22 of the Basic Law after the HKMAO said some lawmakers were guilty of misconduct in public office for delaying bills, failing to appoint a House committee chairman and paralysing the legislature by filibustering.

The liaison office statement said people who made such allegations were distorting the Basic Law and misleading public opinion, adding that �loyalty to the country is a necessary requirement� for lawmakers.

China law expert Prof Jerome Cohen at the New York University descibed China�s statement is �astounding and incendiary�. Test and trace: lessons from Hong Kong on avoiding a coronavirus lockdown Read more

�If taken seriously, it collapses the whole one country, two systems edifice that was constructed over so many years since the joint declaration,� he said.

Prof Michael Davis, a global fellow at the Wilson Center and former law professor at the University of Hong Kong, said China�s aggressive language would �result in further pushback� from Hong Kong society, which has already experienced its most severe political crisis.

�The danger is that Hong Kong�s autonomy will be squandered and this has implications for all countries that have relied on the promises made to Hong Kong,� he said. �This fear that Hong Kong�s autonomy will be lost, along with it the rule of law, is what has driven the many protests in Hong Kong and international concern.�

Alvin Cheung, a legal scholar specialising in Hong Kong issues at New York University, said: �[The fact that] Beijing is not even pretending to keep up appearances heralds a dark new stage in Hong Kong�s post-1997 development � It suggests repression will intensify further.�

A Foreign & Commonwealth Office spokesperson said in a statement that the UK government was concerned about the arrests and stressed that the right to peaceful protest was �protected in both the joint declaration and the Basic Law�.

�It is essential that any protests are conducted peacefully, and that the authorities avoid actions that inflame tensions. The authorities should focus on rebuilding trust through a process of meaningful political dialogue,� the statement said.

Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, said while the world�s attention is focused on the covid-19 epidemic, Beijing has taken �yet another step towards burying one-country, two-system� and the arrests show that �Beijing is determined to throttle Hong Kong�.

He said the liaison office�s claim that it is not bound by the basic law is �a reckless argument which shows that Xi Jinping is determined to abandon the policies pursued by his predecessors, even at the cost of destroying Hong Kong�s way of life�.

�It should be rejected immediately by all those governments and parliaments around the world who know the importance of safe-guarding the high degree of autonomy which is guaranteed by the Basic Law.�

Lee, often dubbed the �Father of Democracy� in Hong Kong and a drafter of the Basic Law, said after he was released on bail that he had �no regrets� and felt �proud to walk the road of democracy with the outstanding youths in Hong Kong�.

On 18 April 2020, 15 pro-democracy defenders were arrested by the police on charges of illegal assembly for joining protests in 2019 in Hong Kong, China.

On 17 April 2020, the Cangshan District Court in Fuzhou city, Fujian province found human rightsdefenders Lin Lanying (???), Lin Yingqiang (???), and Tang Zhaoxing (???) guilty of�picking quarrel and provoking trouble�. Lin Yingqiang and Tang Zhaoxing were both sentenced tothree years in prison whilst Lin Lanying was sentenced to one year and ten months. He Zongwang(???), a human rights defender who was detained along with the three in September 2018, wastried separately and sentenced in August 2019.Lin Lanying is a long time petitioner and woman human rights defender in Fuxhou, focusingprimarily on actions to support prosecuted or imprisoned human rights defenders. Lin Yingqiang isa petitioner and land rights defender in Fuzhou. Since 2004, he has initiated and participated inadvocacy and public protests to support local farmers who have had their land appropriated by theauthorities without adequate compensation. Tan Zhaoxing is a petitioner and human rightsdefender in Fuzhou and has participated in advocacy and public actions to support and raiseawareness about the persecution of local political activists and human rights defenders. HeZongwang is a petitioner and human rights defender in Fuqing city, Fujian province. Heparticipated in advocacy and public protests, including those aimed at raising awareness of socialinjustice and persecution of human rights defenders. Both Lin Yingqiang and He Zongwang havebeen previously detained for their works as human rights defenders. On the morning of 12 September 2018, a group of more than 30 local human rights defendersgathered in front of the Fuzhou No. 1 Detention Centre to welcome the release of imprisonedhuman rights defender Yan Xingsheng (???). They gave flowers to him, took group photos, andset off firecrackers which is a traditional practice aimed at warding off negative energy and oftenused for the occasion of prison release. As the group of defenders began to disperse, they werecorralled and detained by police officers waiting nearby. Over the course of a month, most of thedetained human rights defenders were released, except for Lin Lanying, Lin Yingqian, TangZhaoxing and He Zongwang.Lin Lanying, Lin Yingqiang and Tang Zhaoxing were initially criminally detained on the charge of�gathering a crowd to disrupt public order� and later formally arrested on the charge of �pickingquarrel and provoking trouble�, a vague public order offence often used to prosecute human rightsdefenders and peaceful protesters in recent years. They were tried on 22 November 2019. HeZongwang was prosecuted separately and tried by a different court in Fuzhou for �picking quarreland provoking trouble� and �fabricating and intentionally disseminating false information�. He wassentenced on 30 August 2019 to four years in prison.In the official verdict issued on 17 April 2020, the Cangshan Court wrote that the three defenders,joined by other petitioners, had engaged in seven public assemblies in 2018 in front of courts,detention centres, and convention centres while international conferences were being held. Duringthe trial in November 2019, the lawyers defending the three defenders argued that the prosecutor�sassertion that these actions had �stirred up disturbances� and �seriously disturbed public order�was not backed up by the �evidence� they presented, including video footage of some of theprotests in question. The defence lawyers argued that the prosecution of their clients was a reprisalagainst their peaceful activism. Front Line Defenders condemns the court verdicts given on 30 August 2019 and 17 April 2020,and the sentencing of Lin Lanying, Lin Yingqiang, Tang Zhaoxing and He Zongwang to prison, as itbelieves that they are a direct reprisal against their legitimate human rights work, and the exerciseof their freedom of assembly and of expression, which are guaranteed by the Chinese Constitution.

On 17 April 2020, Lin Lanying, Lin Yingqiang, and Tang Zhaoxing, detained pro-democracy defenders, were found guilty by Cangshan District Court under catch-all charge for staging a solidarity demonstration with imprisoned HRDs in Fuzhou, China.

Three Chinese volunteers who helped to publish censored Covid-19 articles on Github, the world�s largest open-source website, have been detained by police at an unknown location, according to a source close to them.

The trio � Cai Wei, his girlfriend, a woman surnamed Tang, and Chen Mei � were contributors to a crowd-sourced project known as Terminus2049 that began in 2018 and collected articles that had been removed from mainstream media outlets and social media.

Microsoft-owned Github lets programmers collaborate on code, but has increasingly become a haven for Chinese activists who want to circumvent the Great Firewall to publish censored content.

There are other archives on GitHub that collect coronavirus-related articles and personal accounts found on mainstream and social media, and some of these projects say they hope to keep a record to help people better �understand the epidemic and the people affected by it�.

Terminus2049 appeared to be blocked in mainland China on Saturday.

The three Beijing-based volunteers went missing on April 19, the source, who declined to give her name for fear of retaliation, told the South China Morning Post. Their families and friends then called the police, who initially denied knowledge of their whereabouts.

�About five days later, the families of Cai and Tang received official notices from the Chaoyang district bureau of the Beijing police,� the source said. �During the first few days they did not admit they took them.�

According to the notices, Cai and Tang were being kept under police surveillance at an unnamed location for �picking quarrels and provoking trouble�.

Chen�s family has not yet received any notification from the police.

�They had regular contact with their families and friends. Now that they have been taken, their families and friends are distraught beyond imagination,� the source said.

The Chaoyang police bureau could not be reached for comment.

Among the articles and personal accounts published by the project, one of the most well known is an interview with Ai Fen, a whistle-blower doctor at the Wuhan Central Hospital. The article was published by China�s People magazine in early March but was removed within hours.

Ai, who said she had been muzzled by the authorities for raising the alarm without permission at the start of the outbreak, posted an image of a diagnostic report on social network WeChat on December 30, showing that a patient had a pneumonia infection caused by a Sars-like coronavirus.

Some of the information she released was also shared by Li Wenliang, the doctor who was detained by the authorities and who later died from Covid-19.

After the removal of Ai�s article, angry members of the public published dozens of different versions on social media, using emojis, code words and different languages � even invented ones such as Elvish and Klingon � to bypass the censors.

Earlier this week, citizen journalist Li Zehua re-emerged after going missing for two weeks. He said he had been held in a quarantine centre in Wuhan before being sent to isolation in his hometown.

But the whereabouts of Chen Qiushi and Fang Bin, two other citizen journalists who disappeared in Wuhan in early February, remain unknown.

Chen, a lawyer and citizen journalist, arrived in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak in China, on the last train before the lockdown.

He also attended a protest in Hong Kong last year and posted videos of pro-democracy rallies, after which the authorities shut down his Chinese social media accounts and ordered him to return to the mainland.

On 17 April 2020, Cai Wei, Tang, and Chen Mei, bloggers, were detained by the police for online sharing of censored articles on COVID-19 in Beijing, China.

Prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang, who was jailed for four and a half years for subversion, has been released from prison but barred from reuniting with his wife and son in Beijing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

His wife, Li Wenzu, fears that the authorities are using the pandemic as an excuse to hold him under de facto house arrest indefinitely. She said Wang has been released from prison but authorities had sent him to his home town, Jinan, in the north-eastern province of Shandong (400km south of Beijing) for quarantine.

Chinese authorities have been using compulsory quarantine as a pretext to detain or restrict the movements of government critics.

�The government is continuing to restrict his personal freedoms and forcing us to be separated,� Li told the Guardian. �This behaviour is shameless, I�m absolutely opposed to this and am very angry.

�I fear the government is using the pandemic as an excuse to detain him. Would it be just 14 days as they say? I can�t trust them. So long as my husband has no freedom, I�ll continue to fight until he comes back.� Chinese human rights lawyer �totally changed man� after being jailed Read more

Wang called his wife from the prison yesterday telling her to refrain from going to meet him in prison. In a recording she posted on Twitter, Wang said he had to be quarantined �for some time� due to the pandemic. When Li, who has been frequently harassed by the authorities, angrily asked whether he was prompted to say that under duress, he said: �We�ll be back together, but there�ll be a process.�

�The Linyi prison� forced Quanzhang to �persuade� me into accepting the arrangement of sending him to Jinan. I absolutely oppose it,� Li said on Twitter: �Wang Quanzhang needs real freedom, our family needs to be reunited.�

In a practice dubbed �non-release release� by respected China law expert Jerome Cohen at the New York University, Chinese rights activists are often released from prison into de facto house arrest or enforced restriction to their native village, where they remain for years.

�What will Wang Quanzhang�s �release� on April 5 amount to?� asked Cohen in his blog.

Wang, a lawyer who had taken on politically sensitive cases and defended activists and members of the banned religious group Falun Gong, was sentenced to jail in January 2019 on the blanket charge of �subversion of state power�.

He was one of more than 300 lawyers and activists detained in a wave of crackdowns that started in July 2015. He was the last lawyer of the group to be convicted, with his trial taking place three-and-a-half years after he was taken away by the authorities.

On 4 April 2020, Wang Quanzhang, human rights lawyer, was released after 4,5 years in jail and sent away from home for allegedly COVID-19 quarantine in Jinan, China.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a nonprofit advocating for press freedom, has urged Beijing to free journalists and political commentators and stop censoring information about the novel coronavirus outbreak in China.

RSF pointed out that two citizen journalists, Chen Qiushi and Fang Bin, and two political commentators, Guo Quan and Xu Zhiyong, were arrested in early February in connection with their social media posts about the outbreak, in a statement published on Feb. 24.

“Censorship is clearly counter-productive in the fight against an epidemic and can only aggravate it or even help turn it into a pandemic,” said Cédric Alviani, the head of RSF’s East Asia bureau, in the statement.

“Only complete transparency will enable China to minimize the spread of false rumors and convince the population to follow the health and safety instructions recommended for curbing the epidemic.”

Guo, a human rights activist and a former assistant professor at Nanjing Normal University, was arrested on Jan. 31 after he posted about the coronavirus. He was then held at a detention center in Nanjing, the capital of eastern China’s Jiangsu Province, according to Radio Free Asia.

On 31 January 2020, Guo Quan, former academic and pro-democracy HRD, was arrested by the police after having criticised the Government on the management of Covid-19 outbreak in Nanjing, China.